The Granddaughter
by Kariana
Summary: Hogwarts is threatened again...so what does Albus Dumbledore do? Why, he brings in his very competent and very...upbeat granddaughter. ((Updated, finally))
1. Urgency

The Granddaughter  
  
((Note: Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Albus Dumbledore, etc. all belong to J.K. Rowling.))  
  
Chapter 1 - Urgency  
  
Hogwarts was enjoying a bright and warm morning, as were the students. It was the middle of October, and school had just gotten into the swing of things. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had just gotten out of their potions class when Albus Dumbledore walked by, seemingly in a hurry. "I wonder what's with him," frowned Ron. They all continued to stare at the Professor's rapidly receding back when Hermione finally spoke up.  
  
"Perhaps we should get to lunch. I'm rather hungry." Ron and Harry nodded in agreement, and proceeded to the Great Hall, which was already halfway filled with students. The three sat down at their Gryffindor table and began to eat. No one really said anything until Harry hummed. They caught his line of sight, which was the Teacher's Table. Only, not one teacher was sitting there. All three looked blankly at each other, then absently continued on with their meal, pondering the exact same thing.  
  
"Albus, we must think of the students first!," uttered Professor McGonagall. Albus nodded glumly and sighed, sitting heavily in the not so comfy chair.  
  
"Yes Minerva, we must. That is why I want everyone to keep their eyes open." Albus looked at the parchment again, on which was burned the Dark Mark. Even he, the great Albus Dumbledore was worried. After all that has happened recently, this is not what the students and the school needed. Then, strangely, he began to smile. The other teachers looked puzzled, Albus caught this and decided to put an end to their confusion.  
  
"I think I know who can help." Unfortunately, this statement led to more puzzlement. "Why, I'm sure you'll all remember her." Realization dawned in their eyes. He nodded to them, his eyes twinkling, for he knew they were correct. "Yes, I'm sure my granddaughter Sarah will have a .marvelous time helping us." Professor Snape looked positively ill, while Hagrid was grinning ear to ear.  
  
"It'd be good ta see 'er again." Snape, however, did not harbor such optimistic feelings.  
  
"Sir, with all due respect to your.family, I don't see how Miss Dumbledore can help us." The rest of the teachers looked at him, blinking.  
  
"Severus, despite the fact that Sarah.exploded a few cauldrons in your class, she is a very capable witch. I agree with Albus," concluded Professor McGonagall stiffly, pushing her glass higher up on her nose. Severus Snape frowned darkly, but did not continue.  
  
"I shall send an owl right away. That's all I wanted to discuss. Does anyone else have some business to bring up?" When all shook their heads no, Albus nodded. "Then, meeting adjourned." Professor Dumbledore watched the teachers shuffle out of the office, obviously lost in their own thoughts. He smiles to himself and began to write the letter that would send his granddaughter to help protect Hogwarts.  
  
"Albus?" He looked up upon hearing his name and realized Professor McGonagall had stayed behind.  
  
"Yes, Minerva?," he replied.  
  
"Well, uhm, sir I don't really know how to say this.so.I guess I'll just come right out," she stated while fidgeting with her sleeve, "Well, do you remember what your granddaughter is like?"  
  
Albus's eyes began to twinkle even more. "Indeed, Minerva, I do remember." 


	2. The Announcement

Chapter 2 - The Announcement  
  
  
  
Harry woke up to the sound of munching. Ron, who slept next to him, was chewing noisily on a chocolate frog. Upon further inspection, the boy had a much larger cache of goodies in front of him. Harry blinked, "Uhm, Ron, where did you get all of that candy?"  
  
"Oh, Fred and George gave it to me...said they didn't want it." Ron's eyes went wide, and he hopped out of bed and ran to the bathroom faster than Harry could've thought possible. He came out a few moments later, his face pale and his eyes still wide. "I must be bloody stupid." He shook his head, and sat down on Harry's bed.  
  
"Yeah, Ron. Do you really think Fred and George would just give up candy? Probably put an Emasculation Curse on it."  
  
Ron blinked, the first time his eyes had moved for a while. "A what?!"  
  
"An Emasculation Curse. I've heard them talking about it." Harry felt bad. After all, if nothing had happened to Ron yet, nothing probably will. And not much was worse to a teenage boy than loosing your.well.you know.  
  
Ron looked down, not from embarrassment, but to check to see if he had everything intact. "I don't think it's gone." He winced.  
  
"Maybe we should have Hermione check. HERMIO..mphmphp!!" Ron had successfully dived and put his hand tightly over Harry's very loud mouth. Harry loved to tease Ron about his obvious crush on Hermione.  
  
"Don't you dare, Potter!!" Despite everything though, both of their eyes twinkled with amusement, which was surprising to Harry, considering Ron might lose a rather important part of his upcoming manhood in the next hour.  
  
Harry tapped on his friend's hand, in which Ron promptly took his hand away. "Uhm, Ron, what time is it?"  
  
"Oh blimey! We'll be late for breakfast!" Ron quickly got up and began to dress. Harry tried not to laugh and heroically succeeded. After all, HE wouldn't be eager for breakfast if he had just eaten enough candy to satisfy Dudley's appetite. Harry got dressed as well, and the two headed down to breakfast. Entering the Great Hall on Halloween was always a treat, no pun intended. There were huge floating jack-o-lanterns, courtesy of Hagrid's ever productive pumpkin patch, orange and black hung from the walls like proud banners, and the pumpkin juice always seemed to be better on Halloween. They took their usual seats next to Hermione, who was reading a rather small book while chewing on sausage. A whoosh of air made Harry and Ron look up, noticing the owls had just come in.  
  
"I wonder if I'll get anything today," said Ron sarcastically. The last letter he had gotten was a Howler from his mother, for reasons he never told Harry and Hermione about. Harry grinned and waited to see if he was going to get anything. Something caught his eye, and saw that the headmaster was giving a strangely blue colored owl a piece of bacon, then proceeded to untie a rolled up piece of parchment from the bird's legs. Harry nudged Ron, who was reading over Hermione's shoulder at the obviously boring book she was trying to explain to Ron. Ron looked almost relieved at Harry's interruption and quickly looked to where he was pointing. They both saw Professor Dumbledore read the note carefully, then smile and stand. The room went quiet immediately, as if he had flipped on a switch.  
  
"Students, it seems we will be getting some company tonight for the Halloween feast." The room went up again in chatter expectantly, and Dumbledore raised his hand for silence. "My granddaughter Sarah will be visiting us for a while. I do hope you'll make her feel welcome while at our school." Fred and George spoke up, also expectantly.  
  
"Is she a looker!" The Great Hall experienced a good amount of laughter, except for the Slytherin table, which simply sneered. Dumbledore's eyes glittered, looking at the twins  
  
"I do believe I'm a biased old man, so I shall leave the.ah.gawking to the experts" This made Fred and George blush a bit, much to the enjoyment of the Slytherins. Hermione rolled her eyes, and continued reading her book but managed to keep her ears on Dumbledore. "My granddaughter is a former student of this school, and a former Gryffindor," more sneering from the Slytherins, "So she will be staying in that dormitory. Now that that announcement is made, please continue to enjoy your breakfast." Dumbledore sat down and the blue owl flapped off and out the window.  
  
Harry pondered for the moment, then looked to Ron, "I wonder what Dumbledore's granddaughter is like." Ron shrugged, eyeing Fred and George. "I don't know, but if you'll excuse me. I must have a little talk with my brothers about those chocolates. Ron slipped out of his chair and over to the twins, leaving Harry to think. 


	3. Incoming!

Chapter 3 - Incoming!  
  
  
  
Harry wasn't able to think much about the headmaster's granddaughter, considering the class schedule he had the last half of the day. Well, at least he had Ron and Hermione with him, and who better to brave Snape's class than with your two best friends. Harry started to daydream, about what it'd be like to be the Potions Master, and have Snape be the student. But the lovely daydream ended abruptly, as the three made it to door of the class. He overheard Draco talking to his cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, while Pansy shot daggers over to Hermione.  
  
"I'm sure his granddaughter will be as nutty as he is. And why would he bring her here? All this school needs is another Gryffindor." The three other Slytherins snickered behind their hands, which encouraged Draco even more. "Yes, I'm also certain she's going to be a stupid, horse-faced girl who immediately becomes a Harry Potter fan club member. They all are, of course."  
  
"Mr. Malfoy?" came a familiar voice from behind the suddenly stiff and edgy Slytherins. Dumbledore stepped out from around the corner, his eyes glittering strangely. "I do hope you were talking about an ugly painting, and not my intelligent and beautiful granddaughter?" Draco smiles nervously and nodded with the same nervousness.  
  
"Of course Professor. I wouldn't have it any other way," Draco tried his most winning smile, which looked more like a simple showing of teeth you'd do at the dentist.  
  
"That's good, Mr. Malfoy. I was just making sure my old ears were working properly." Dumbledore smiled evenly, and patted Draco on the shoulder. "You should probably get to your class now. No doubt Professor Snape has something special for you today." Dumbledore's eyes went back to their usual glittery self, and he walked away. Harry sighed blissfully. He loved seeing Draco put his foot in his mouth like that, and he couldn't think of a better person to do it around than Professor Albus Dumbledore. Draco must've heard what Harry was thinking.  
  
"Potter, I..." At that moment, the door opened, and Snape began to wave students inside.  
  
Thinking this must be his lucky day; he stepped inside with a little bounce in his stride. Taking his usual place in the back, in-between Ron and Hermione, he pulled out his cauldron and books. Snape went to his desk at the front of the class and spoke up.  
  
"Students, today we will be studying the more advanced form of poisons. And, like we did a few years ago, it'll be your job to brew your own antidote. And since that time a few years ago when Mr. Potter was unable to help us with a demonstration of his abilities, he will be the first this time." Hermione shot up her hand, which Snape ignored, of course. So much for good days, Harry thought. The three set off to readying the ingredients for the antidote, which Harry paid an unusual amount of attention to.  
  
Harry set his books and cauldron on the table close to his four-poster bed, then sat down. "Ron, that's gotta be the worst Potions class I've ever been to. And that's saying something!" He sighed, and plopped backwards into his cushy bed with a soft thud.  
  
"It wasn't that bad. After all, Snape threatening to kill you by a powerful potion isn't nearly as bad as living without a ..." He stopped, looking down as he had done earlier. "Excuse me Harry, I have to check something."  
  
Harry couldn't help but stifle a laugh. Ron had talked to Fred and George earlier, and, as usual, they denied everything with a grin and a smile respectively. Harry could hear Ron's "Woohoo!" from the bathroom, and he knew all was, ahem, intact. Ron came out of the bathroom, looking relieved and giddy all at the same time.  
  
"Don't worry though. I sent Mom an owl just this morning. They'll get their comeuppance soon." For some reason, Harry had a bad feeling about this, and spoke up.  
  
"Ron, when your mom gets mad, she normally sends a Howler, right?" Ron nodded yes. Harry paused for a moment to let what he just said sink in. It didn't. "Well, owls normally come while we're in the Great Hall, right? While in front of the whole school?" Ron nodded again, still not getting the point.  
  
"Yup, they'll be embarrassed alright, " Ron said emphatically. Harry winced, then got up and shook Ron's shoulders.  
  
"Ron! Your mother is going to send a Howler to Fred and George while in front of the whole of Hogwarts!"  
  
Ron looked annoyed, "I KNOW HARRY! THAT'S THE POINT!"  
  
Harry shook Ron again, getting annoyed as well, "And the Howler is going to contain the REASONS why they're receiving the Howler!" Ron's face went white as chalk.  
  
Ron finally spoke up, albeit in a whisper. "Innn frront o-of thhhe w-w- whole school..." Harry couldn't watch, so he went downstairs to the common room, leaving his friend in mortal anguish. Hermione went up to Harry when she saw him.  
  
"Harry, where's Ron?" The question brought a nervous laugh from Harry, which made Hermione look at him funny. "Is something wrong? Well, maybe this'll cheer him up. I bought some chocolate frogs from..."  
  
"Uhm! Strangely enough, I don't think he'll want those," Harry interrupted. Hermione shrugged.  
  
"Well, it's about time for the feast. Meet you down there, Harry?" Harry nodded as Hermione turned to leave through the Fat Lady painting. Harry hurried upstairs to find Ron still unmoved.  
  
"Ron, I think you can come down to dinner. After all, she wouldn't send it this quickly. The owl would never make it there and back in time." Ron nodded very very slightly and let Harry usher him down to the Great Hall for the feast.  
  
Down in the Great Hall, the chatter was all about Dumbledore's granddaughter coming this night. "I bet she's real smart," said a Gryffindor first-year.  
  
"Naw, I'm guessing she's a spoiled brat. After all, I hear she's Dumbledore's only granddaughter. That's gotta mean something," replied a typical answer from a Slytherin second-year.  
  
Fluttering from ahead caught most everyone's eye. Not many owls, especially blue-colored ones, came in during dinner. The owl hovered until all of the students were seated. Then it landed softly on the floor, right in the main way, which led to the Teacher's Table. One Slytherin picked up a roll and threw it at the owl, hitting it just below where the shoulder would be. This made the Slytherin table burst out laughing, but before anyone was able to see if the bird was ok, a soft blue light began to mist over the bird, then began to grow larger and larger. So large in fact, that it was nearly the size...Harry blinked...nearly the size of a human. The mist disappeared, to reveal a tall and slender form draped in a deep blue lady's cloak. The same blue that the owl was. The room was hush as one of the woman's hands reached over and brushed off where the roll had hit the owl. The figure turned to look at a particularly bashful and embarrassed looking Slytherin.  
  
"Nice aim. But my grandfather could throw better than that." There was a smile in the voice, but also an edge to it as well. The woman reached up with both hands to draw back the hood of the cloak, showing a rather beautiful young woman, probably in her late teens to early twenties with twinkling blue-green eyes reminiscent of Dumbledore's, and a long mane of very dark red hair. Just how long, Harry couldn't tell, but he did try to check. The woman turned to the Teacher's Table with a sparkling toothy grin. "I see things haven't changed, Grandpa." She walked towards the Teacher's Table with even, measured strides and climbed the two stairs to her grandfather, giving him a seemingly crushing hug. They both laughed in welcome, and Dumbledore stood, putting a hand on the woman's shoulder.  
  
"Students, I'd like for you to meet my granddaughter Sarah." Sarah smirking and waved to the large crowd of students, then spoke something to her grandpa and walked away, towards the Gryffindor table. She sat down next to Hermione, and looked up to her grandfather, who sat down, signaling it time to eat. The food appeared, and the students dug in. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, along with the rest of the table looked at Sarah, who began to fill her plate. A bite of beef was halfway to Sarah's mouth when she noticed the stares. She put down her fork, and smiled at the gawkers. "Don't have yams growing out of my ears, do I?" Sarah smiled again; finally biting down on the food that was still on her fork.  
  
"Are you really Dumbledore's granddaughter?" said Fred, who was obviously transfixed at the older girl.  
  
Sarah chuckled and wiped her mouth, "Indeed I am. We could do a DNA test..."  
  
"A what?" half the table replied in unison. Sarah laughed, which sounded a lot like her grandfather's and she extended her hand to the nearest student, who was Hermione. "I'm sorry. I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Sarah Dumbledore from the Department of Muggle Studies at the Ministry." That seemed to explain a lot. Of course, if anything sounded strange and you just said that you were from the Department of Muggle Studies, that explained everything. Sarah looked at Ron, Fred, and George and grinned. "You're Arthur Weasley's sons, aren't you?" The three nodded, still staring. Sarah looked to Hermione. "And you're Hermione Granger. Your mother's a very good dentist, by the way." Sarah looked to Harry. "And that would make you Harry Potter. Bloody good job you did on Volde-poo there. He'd been owed a kick in the pants for a long time, from what I know." Harry blinked, but was pleasantly surprised. Most people look at him as if he's the reincarnated Son of God, and not a boy of 15 years of age. Sarah took another bite of beef, seemingly oblivious to the quizzical looks of the students around her. Without looking up from her mashed potatoes, she answered their looks with a grin on her face, "And yes, I said Volde-poo." 


	4. Long Forgotten Speeches

The days seemed to slip by for Harry. After all, quidditch practice had begun in full, classes were going unusually well, and Ron was still giddy after earning his masculinity back. Ron and Harry had just gotten out of Arithmancy when they passed Sarah in the hallway.  
  
"Oh, good day Ron, Harry," she nodded to each of them in turn. "How goes classes today."  
  
"Not too badly, actually," Ron spoke up. "We haven't had much in the way of homework lately. Mind you, I'm not complaining. Say, are you a fan of quidditch? I sure am. Isn't that right, Harry?" Harry peered at Ron, wondering what was causing him to be so, for lack of a better term, perky. Harry merely shrugged.  
  
"Yeah, you are. You can't seem to take your mind off of it," Harry's slight jibe was completely lost of Ron, who continued to beam proudly.  
  
"That's right. It's constantly there. What'd you expect to be in there? Potions? Bah. . ." Ron sniffed and looked up at Sarah, whose eyes seemed to have glazed over. She smiled sardonically, and the look in her eyes faded.  
  
"Don't like potions, hm? It's a fine subject. After all, where else can you learn to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death?" Her grin became even wider at the quizzical looks of the two boys.  
  
"Hey, I've heard that somewhere," Ron scratches his head, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "Blimey, I hate it when that happens, when something's on the tip of your tongue." He shrugged. "Oh well, probably not important."  
  
Harry chuckled softly, "Anything Snape says rarely is." He turned to Sarah as well, her face slightly red from stifling a laugh. "Sadly enough, though, I wrote that down. Say, did he tell you the same thing?"  
  
She lowered her hand from her mouth, the moment of laughter finally passing. "Indeed he did. I call it the "Bow Down to my Majesty" speech. The name seems to fit quite well." All three burst out laughing, then softened it to a chuckle when footsteps were heard. Low and behold, it was Snape, looking like his usual dreary self. He instantly looked at Harry and Ron, whom immediately stopped.  
  
"Aren't you two supposed to be at lunch?"  
  
"See you later, Sarah."  
  
"Yup, bye."  
  
The two sped off down the corridor, not wanting to tangle, or have another word, with their depressing professor. Sarah smiled at Snape, who turned a slightly hostile glare on the young woman.  
  
"Ms. Dumbledore, I find it highly unlikely that you three were talking about anything useful, so I would encourage you to not fraternize with those two. Their brains are already scattered enough as it is with quidditch and troublemaking, especially Potter." He crosses his arms over his chest, daring her to dispute his claim. Which, of course, she would.  
  
"Professor Snape, trying to control whom I socialize with? I must say, I am surprised at you. One would think that type of behavior would be more fitting to a jealous lover, and not a former teacher." Snape's arms fell as did his sneer. He gained the look on his face within a heartbeat, and looked to reply but no words came. Completely speechless, he turned on his heels and headed down the nearest stairwell, leaving Sarah with a rather wide grin on her face. She sighed happily and touched the castle wall with a hand. "How I have missed this place."  
  
She shook her head in amusement as the nostalgia wore off, and she headed down to lunch. It was already halfway over when she arrived in the Great Hall, and there were several spots open at the Gryffindor table as she sat down. Sarah was happy that she was no longer getting strange and mystified looks from the students. Her mood and thoughts changed when a flash bulb went off less than half a meter from her face.  
  
"Oh blood hell!" Sarah groaned and rubbed her eyes hard, trying to get the black spots out of her vision. "What in the name of . . .who was. . .I'll kill him! The moment I can see again, their head will be mounted on my wall!"  
  
"Oh, Colin, you had better start runn. . ."  
  
"Don't tell her my name!"  
  
Yet the boy took his advice and started running out of the Great Hall, much to the chagrin of the Gryffindors. When Sarah's vision finally cleared, she saw the sniggering faces of every student at the table, minus Hermione, whose nose was placed firmly in a book entitled Magic and Machinery: How Science Has Ruined Magic. Not seeing her enemy in sight, she grudgingly returned to her meal.  
  
Thankfully, lunch ended without further complications. Sarah caught up with her grandfather as he was about to head out."  
  
"Good afternoon, Sarah. Can I help you with something?" He crosses his hands behind his back, and began walking alongside her.  
  
"Actually, yes. I've looked at that paper you gave me, and I believe your initial assumptions were correct." Dumbledore nodded slowly, and stopped walking. Turning to her, he sighed. "So, they are muggle in origin then."  
  
"I'm afraid so, Grandpa. The marks on the paper clearly indicate that they were made with a ballpoint pen, and not with a quill. But, there is good news."  
  
His eyebrows rose, wondering what could be good about any of this. Then seeing her grin, his perplexity rose. "And what might that be, my dear?"  
  
"Well, since Voldemort's followers abhor anything remotely muggle, there are only two possibilities. One: Somehow a muggle found out about us and sent us that paper, knowing it would unnerve us. Or two: someone's playing a prank on us."  
  
Dumbledore nodded again, absorbing the information. "Let us hope it is the second choice, Sarah." 


End file.
